SmockTip #3- An eggcellent idea!

At the beginning of the school year, I ask parents to save and donate certain materials to recycle in the art room.  I always ask for cardboard egg cartons.  Color mixing with a classroom full of first graders can get messy.  After several attempts of shared palettes turning into a mush of brown paint, chaotic clean up at the end of class while washing palettes, and many students upset that their partners didn't let them do the mixing, I knew I had to find a better way.

Using egg cartons for color mixing worked wonderfully.  I cut the egg cartons into trays of three wells, and pre-filled them with the colors to mix.  I was able to do this step at the start of the day prior to a string of back-to-back classes.  Each student LOVED having their own paint and the opportunity to try out the magic of mixing independently.  When students were finished, clean up was simple.  They threw away their egg palettes and tossed their paintbrush into the rinse bucket.  So easy!

***Note:  In the photo you might notice that I had my students mixing yellow, magenta, and turquoise instead of yellow, red, and blue.  I have found that with the Crayola washable tempera paints, the primary colors do not mix very attractively.  By substituting magenta and turquoise, the students get shades of orange, purple, and green that really pop eliciting lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" in the art room : ) 

The Key to Successful Printmaking

I was feeling frustrated when the prints that my second graders were producing were not turning out nicely. I repeated a demo for the second time while referring to the steps of printmaking that were clearly listed on chart paper.  But while looking through prints after the second session of printing, I was disappointed in the quality once again.  

I had just started printmaking with the Kindergarteners and their prints were perfect. I reflected on what I was doing differently with the two grades, and figured out the key. COLLABORATION.  My Kindergarteners were making prints in small groups. One student worked at a time, with the teacher and peers offering tips and suggestions along the way.  I decided to take a step back with the second graders and have them work in cooperative groups during their next printing session.  The results were phenomenal!!! 

Collaboration is key in the art room! 

SmockTip #2- Head to the drive-thru!

Have a tight budget for ordering supplies? Do you envy teachers who have lots of supply caddies to organize their classroom? Have you been shocked at how expensive those supply caddies are?  If you are like me then your answer is "Yes" to all of these questions.  

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

I recently had my Kindergarteners work on a project that I saw in SchoolArts magazine titled Building a Better Robot (January 2012 issue). This mixed media project seemed to have it all- found object printmaking, pencil drawing, coloring with marker, and shading with chalk.  I was excited about exposing my students to a variety of media while also teaching them about the concepts of foreground and background.  

Mrs. Mama

Tomorrow I will begin teaching art classes with the school's youngest group.  My daughter is part of the Nursery class of three-year-olds at the school where I work.  For me this means that tomorrow, for the first time (formally), I will become my child's teacher.  For my daughter, this means that for the first time her Mama will become more than just Mama.  

I don't really know what to expect and I have to admit that I am a little bit nervous.  

An art teacher's primary nemesis and #1 friend

Yes, I am talking about you X-ACTO SchoolPro Electric Pencil Sharpener.  I love the way that you quickly sharpen my students' pencils into perfect points every time. I love that you have a handy dial to accommodate a variety of pencil sizes, and an ample receptacle for catching pencil shavings. But why, WHY must you be accompanied by the awful sound of RIH-IH-IH-IH-IH-IH-IH-IH-IH-IH!?!?!?! 

Do you not know that elementary children can make plenty of noise on their own? Do you not know that they feel they must compete with the sound you emit by being even noisier? Do you not know how much they love hearing you at work so they accidentally break their pencil tip multiple times during class in order to visit you repeatedly, and that each & every time the noise level in the room escalates by a few more decibels? It is a vicious cycle and I can't handle my love-hate relationship with you any longer.  I truly do rely on your excellence in chiseling pencil tips but I swear I am going to take care of you Office Space style one of these days!  

Note to the makers of the X-ACTO SchoolPro Sharpener: Please have your design team develop some sort of styrofoam noise canceling armor to muffle this machine, for the sake of art teachers everywhere. Or at least send a complimentary bottle of Ibuprofen along with each product ordered! 

My mom-brain wishes that the solution to this problem could be so simple.

Art teachers have bones in their hair.

What, you didn't know that? 

It is a well-known fact amongst children that their art teacher often has bones in her hair.  You see, when you have long locks and work with painting children you are bound to end up with paint in your hair. During the course of the day the paint will dry and become a hard stick embedded in your mane. 

When you get home from work you will engage in a game of beauty parlor with your three-year-old daughter. As you take a seat in the beautician's chair for a princess updo she will exclaim, "Mama, you've got bones in your hair!"  

I think this term should be added to The Funny Dictionary. 
Hair Bone. n. the phenomenon of having something dry in your hair that makes it hard as a bone. Those typically afflicted include kids who eat syrup, brick layers who work with mortar, dogs who roll in the mud, and elementary art teachers.